


The Heart of a Lion

by poisonous_panda



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cerberus - Freeform, Citadel, Gen, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Insomnia, Peace, Sacrifice, dantes divine comedy, royal edition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-05 22:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13397409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonous_panda/pseuds/poisonous_panda
Summary: After watching the Royal Edition trailer I got this idea that Cor should die in the battle with Cerberus as the trailer suggests. He's outlived 2 kings he failed to protect, let him do his duty and save the Chosen. These are his final moments. References to Greek mythology and Dante's Divine Comedy.





	The Heart of a Lion

They'd been fighting for what felt like hours, but honestly it can't have been more than twenty minutes at most.

This giant three headed canine, Cerberus, was guarding the entrance of the Citadel of Insomnia. Barring the Chosen King from his destiny of banishing the Darkness. 

So it had to be dealt with.

When the King and his retinue arrived, they were greeted by the Accursed himself. A long lost immortal relative in Noctis' family tree, driven mad by spite. The elder had summoned a wall similar to what Regis had conjured with the help of the Crystal, however this power had a red hue to it rather than the blue of Noct's branch of the bloodline.

And Cerberus was the Citadel's Guardian like it was some kind of unholy place.

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." was Ardyn's words - obviously delivered with a menacing chuckle while he had his arms outstretched, as he was nothing if not theatrical - before the Accursed teleported within the ancient building to await his nephew's ill-fated journey inside.

Gladio rushed at the giant beast with all the rage of a stampeding bull. He used his impossibly large greatsword as both a sword and a club; never missing an opportunity to injure the daemon. Prompto provided cover fire from afar, occasionally sliding between the colossal mutt's four paws to get a shot at it's fiery underbelly. Ignis would dart in and out of the fray - both to slash with his painfully sharp elemental daggers and also to throw magical grenades from afar when needed. 

All together they made a really good team, despite how filthy, torn and sweaty they were in their Kingsglaive uniform.

And they were doing it all for their King.

Noctis Lucis Caelum. In his black and gold Kingly attire modelled just after his beloved father's, whose own kingly attire was modelled after his own father... and so on.

Said King was warping around as fast as he could, exploiting every weak spot the mammoth beast exposed whenever it was distracted by the King's brothers-in-arms. A slash with his Ultima Blade in the back of the gigantic dog's ankles here, sending his dearly departed Oracle fiancee's trident's spikes into the soft stomach of the abominable creature, or even warping with a pair of Ignis' spare daggers to the daemon's face to cause damage to it's eyes.

All in all it was an exhausting battle, and the fiend got more and more desperate as it's strength began to wane. It began spitting huge fireballs from it's three mouths at the four comrades. It made the battle conditions unbearably hot and uncomfortable. The friends were all sticky with dirt and sweat but they simply could _not_ give up now.

Fires lit up the darkened sky and grunts, groans and unearthly daemonic screams filled the dead city while reverberating off the debris of shattered buildings and crushed cars. Insomnia truly was a sorry sight to behold.

Gladio was fading fast, and it wasn't long before the Cerberus was able to swat him away and render him completely unconscious with the swipe of one massive paw.

Ignis was beginning to lose his concentration - his heightened senses kept him a valuable ally in battle despite his blindness, but with his energy depleting, it was hard for him to navigate these senses and understand what was going on. He narrowly avoided getting trodden on as he retrieved his dagger from the ground - saved only by Prompto screaming "Iggy!" as he pushed the older man out of the way and took the blow. The blonde gunslinger laid bloodied and exhausted on the ground, but thankfully not dead. Just defeated.

Noctis quickly warps to his Adviser, grabs him around the slender waist and warps to the nearest lamp post, much to Ignis' surprise. Both men hung there panting as Noctis prayed the strength in his hands didn't give out. The Cerberus saw them and began to charge it's phenomenally strong armoured body at them, intent on bringing them and the lamp post to the ground and crushing them. 

Letting go of the lamp post just as the Cerberus struck, Noctis gathered the last of his strength and warped a final time to safety out of the daemon's path.

Looking at his Shield and school friend both battered and beaten on the floor - yet thankfully still breathing - Noctis was struck with an unwelcome sense of imminent defeat. His adviser and childhood friend fell out of Noct's arm and fell to his knees on the cracked tarmac of the road, panting.

"Don't give up Iggy!" came the King's raspy voice, still full of determination despite feeling as though the Six had forsaken him in his time of need. Ignis was too weak to reply, just hunched over on his knees trying to catch his breath and gather what little physical and magical strength he had left.

Suddenly there's a masculine growl from behind the two battle weary men, and before they knew it someone else sporting a Kingsglaive uniform rushed past them, katana held high, before powerful leg muscles shot the mysterious Glaive into the air and his blade hit strong and true. The unyielding weapon cut through the fearsome daemon's armour-plated scales on it's neck, injuring the beast and causing black Scourge-infected blood to spurt forth from where the katana pierced it's flesh. The creature howled in pain and thrashed around looking for the threat, but the Crownsguard Marshal had already sprinted away upon landing on the floor and helped Noctis pull Ignis to his feet.

"It seems I can still be of service." the Marshal commented, facing the Cerberus as it began to recover from his attack. His hair had silvered over the years, and he had grown some impressive face fuzz; as had they all with the exception of a clean shaven Ignis. Mind you, Noctis thought Prompto's tiny goatee was hilarious, but this was not the time for jokes.

"Thank you Marshal." Ignis says softly as he clambers to his feet using Noctis as support.

"Yeah, thanks." comes the King's grateful reply. Still not very good with words despite the decade that has passed, but nobody could deny the boy-like smile that graced his stubbled face.

A roar cuts the rest of the conversation short, and the three men face the monstrosity.

It begins to charge again, and just as the three men were quickly considering their options, the Cerberus suddenly howled in pain.

Prompto was back up, and was firing shot after shot from his dual-wielded pistols. His shots never missed their target, shredding the flesh on the back of the colossal daemon's hind legs. 

The three men on the other side of the beast use this time to draw their weapons into a battle stance, anticipating the daemon's next move...

But Gladio was the one to strike next. 

Using the distraction, the brawny tattooed man had sprinted underneath the daemon and - with a mind as clear as day and a brute force strong enough to penetrate the daemon's armoured scales - he thrust the end of his greatsword straight through the belly of the beast with a blow that would have made Gilgamesh the Blademaster proud.

The battle was won, and the Cerberus slumped down on limp and useless legs. But not before a roar of extreme rage ripped from it's throat, sending a massive burning fireball straight at the Chosen King.

But it never hit it's target.

Cor the 'Immortal' jumped in front and took the blow, shielding the King with his own aged body.

Then the Cerberus fell down dead, as Cor hit the ground not even a moment afterwards. The red hued shield around the Citadel dissipated too, but nobody was focusing on it right now. 

The three surviving Kingsglaive rushed to their fallen mentor's side as the King held him steady, even a fireball would not stop Cor trying to get on his feet again.

Everybody knew what was coming. They could all smell Cor's charred flesh where the Cerberus' last attack had fatally wounded him, even if the Marshal's face had miraculously avoided any such damage. The older man was also struggling to stay upright on unsteady legs. He was hunched over the young King. 

Tired green eyes looked into moonlight blue ones. 

"Perhaps we'll meet again, at daybreak." the Marshal stated, a vague smile on his face as he held onto the King's hand as a gesture of farewell. 

But both men knew they would not survive this night to see it. 

Noctis could only smile and nod back, not trusting himself to speak. Yet another person he had to lose for this prophecy. Some Chosen King he was.

"Marshal..." Ignis quietly breathed from behind. The Glaives had stayed where they were, with the Marshal having his back to them as he faced the King.

Gladio remained stoic while Prompto allowed a few tears to fall freely.

Pulling himself to his full height, then hunching over a little to bring an arm around his injured abdomen, Cor turns and addresses them all for the final time.

"You have all done well. But the battle is not over. I'd be lying if I said you were my best students," Cue watery grins from the others, "But I have faith that you will complete your destiny and make Eos proud."

Then he turns to face Noctis behind him.

"Banish the Darkness." is all he says with a small smile, before he limps past the King and back into the dead city, leaving the other four in the looming shadow of the Citadel.

".... Where's he going?" Prompto asks tentatively after a pause. He thinks he already knows.

"To be at peace." Noctis says.

It was common knowledge that Cor had hated outliving two previous kings - both Regis and his father Mor - so they knew sacrificing himself to save Noctis would finally bring the battle-hardened warrior the peace he craved; once he found somewhere to rest and spend his final moments in quiet dignity.

"Truly the heart of a lion." Ignis comments, and every one of his comrades shared the blinded man's sense of awe. The three Kingsglaive place their knuckled right hand over their left breast and bowed at the disappearing figure of their mentor and friend for the last time. The Chosen King watched him go with both a smile and tears in his eyes.

Cor's work was done, but they still had a job to do.

"Let's finish this." Noctis says defiantly as he turns towards the Citadel with a face of pure determination, his Glaives following in his wake.


End file.
